Two Reasons Why IT Managed Service Partnerships Fail

Featured article by Clayton Kenerson, Analyst at Clutch

Businesses today can’t survive without a myriad of technologies. There are phones, mobile devices, desktops, servers, networking equipment, peripherals, software, security and websites that need to be in place just to effectively run a business. Years ago, small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) relied on the computer guy to handle just about all of their technology needs. Nowadays, technologies have become increasingly complex with many requiring specialized training in the technology itself just to understand the basics of configuration and effective management. As a result, many SMBs are turning to managed service providers for help. In fact, 69 percent of SMBs hire at least one type of IT service provider and 39 percent of them plan to increase their spending in 2016.

Unfortunately, SMBs are not often satisfied with the service they receive. In a recent study from Clutch, it was found that customer satisfaction using the Net Promoter Score for IT services firms averaged only a 13 NPS. In comparison, other B2B professional services firms often score higher than 30.

So the question is, why are so many SMBs dissatisfied with their service partners?

Choosing the wrong partner

The most obvious reason that partnerships with IT services providers turn sour is that the wrong provider is chosen. Managed IT services should have:

– A well trained, certified team of professionals

– Knowledge in a wide range of technologies

– Project management capabilities

– Experience implementing and managing the technologies you rely on

– Senior level staff to serve as mentors

– Industry contacts to escalate issue and bug remediation

Relying on the wrong partner could easily cause delays or failures when it comes to implementing new solutions. Worse, mismanagement or misconfiguration of certain technologies could result in your systems being left vulnerable to attacks that could result in a data breach that costs your business money and its reputation.

Not communicating with your partner

The second reason why many partnerships crumble is that there is a lack of communication between the two parties. That can happen when your organization has a lack of understanding regarding IT or sets unrealistic expectations. Adam Barney of Framework Communications explains that customer dissatisfaction comes from just that. “It’s very hard to judge performance and assess if you’re getting good value when you don’t understand some of the issues they ran into, why they had the impact they did, or why it took a certain amount of time. Clients will often think it’s as simple as flipping a switch. The technologies that are easier to understand are rated higher [in the provided NPS data]. The further you move away from common knowledge is where you see the Net Promoter Score decrease.”

When you choose a managed services provider make sure that expectations are clearly set from the beginning. They need to understand your business critical technologies and you need to understand their processes and timeframes.

You never enter into a partnership expecting it to fail, especially one that you will rely on for a core element of your business. Therefore, it never hurts to take the time to fully vet any vendors you may be considering for this role. It may be tempting to hire the cheapest firm or call on that guy who is friends with the boss’ secretary but these relationships rarely work out in the long run. Instead, look for a team that can handle your current needs and help you grow in the future.

About the Author

Clayton is an Analyst at Clutch, a Washington, DC based B2B ratings and reviews website that highlights leading professional services firms. Before joining Clutch, Clayton was responsible for project management and business development functions at an IT consultancy in the Virginia-DC area.